How this trip is put together
The first three nights go on the Cu Chi Tunnels, a whole day out in the Mekong Delta and half a day walking past colonial-era buildings downtown. After that it is five hours up the coast to Mui Ne, where two nights leave room for the beach and for a jeep run timed so that the White and Red Sand Dunes are reached as the light goes.
Another four hours of driving lifts you into the central highlands for one night in Da Lat — Langbiang Mountain, Datanla Waterfall and the Flower Park — before departure from Lien Khuong Airport. Since no leg is flown, the route suits anyone who wants city, coast, dunes and hill country in six nights without an airport in the middle of it.
Trip highlights
- Cu Chi Tunnels and a full-day Mekong Delta excursion
- The coast road out to Mui Ne, with no domestic flight involved
- A jeep run to the White and Red Sand Dunes, timed for the sunset
- Overland climb into Da Lat's central highlands
- Langbiang Mountain, Datanla Waterfall and Da Lat Flower Park
Day by day
Day 1: Arrival in Ho Chi Minh City (about a 30-minute, 10 km transfer from the airport)
Saigon, as most people still call it, runs at a quicker tempo than the capital, glass towers going up behind the buildings the French left and the pavements busy long after dark. The first afternoon usually goes on settling in, with an optional walk around the downtown blocks near your hotel.
Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels and half-day Ho Chi Minh City tour (about 1½ hours / 70 km one way)
The morning belongs to the Cu Chi Tunnels — the underground network dug and lived in by resistance fighters across decades of war — where stretches left as they were sit alongside sections widened for visitors and displays from the period.
The afternoon carries on at walking pace: the former Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street, the Continental Hotel, the Opera House and City Hall.
Day 3: Mekong Delta tour (about 2 hours / 80 km one way)
Heading southwest brings you into the rice bowl of the country, where a boat runs along the Vam Xep canal to a small islet and a shaded, palm-lined path leads past village houses. A bee farm, a small coconut workshop and a row-boat trip down the narrow channels punctuate the day before the road back to the city.
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne by road (about 5 hours / 220 km one way)
The coast road northeast delivers you to Mui Ne in the early afternoon. Once you have checked in the day is yours, spent on the shoreline that turned this stretch into a fixture of the southern circuit.
Day 5: Mui Ne jeep tour, sand dunes
Mornings are free here. At 2pm a jeep collects you for the Fairy Stream, a fishing village and the White and Red Sand Dunes, arranged so that the dunes come last, at sunset.
Day 6: Mui Ne to Da Lat by road (about 4 hours / 170 km one way)
The road leaves the coast and climbs; by early afternoon the air at Da Lat is noticeably cooler. Check-in is followed by Langbiang Mountain, Datanla Waterfall and the Flower Park.
Day 7: Departure from Da Lat
Your last morning is free until the transfer to Lien Khuong Airport, closing a trip that ran entirely by road from the city through the dunes and up into the hills, without once boarding a domestic flight.
What's included
- Accommodation with twin/ double/ triple sharing room basis with daily breakfast in the category chosen or similar (subject to availability).
- Meals as mentioned in the Tour Itinerary.
- Sightseeing & Transfers according to the above Tour Itinerary Details only.
- Transportation by vehicle with A/C
- Local English-speaking guide’s assistance.
- All Entrance fees for attractions included in the program
- All activities and cruises clearly mentioned in the program
- Government taxes & service charge
- Air Fare / Train fare.
- Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, porterage, water sports.
- Early check-in, late check-out
- Additional sightseeing or extra usage of vehicle, other than mentioned in the itinerary.
- Room Up gradation Charges.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities like, landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).
- Travel Insurance.
- Bank Charges
- Tip to Driver & Guide (Compulsory)
- Airport Taxes
- Visa and Visa arrangement
- Anything which is not included in the inclusion.
Not included
- Air Fare / Train fare.
- Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, porterage, water sports.
- Early check-in, late check-out
- Additional sightseeing or extra usage of vehicle, other than mentioned in the itinerary.
- Room Up gradation Charges.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities like, landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).
- Travel Insurance.
- Bank Charges
- Tip to Driver & Guide (Compulsory)
- Airport Taxes
- Visa and Visa arrangement
- Anything which is not included in the inclusion.
Book this trip
- Days
- 6 nights / 7 days
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